Unit 3
Wasteland
Viewing “Wasteland”
Determining students’ prior knowledge about the subject content of the media text:
1. We are going to watch a Photo Story called “Wasteland”. What do you think it will be about? (Accept a variety of responses and focus on any that have to do with the idea of waste materials being thrown into the garbage. If this is not forthcoming, make a statement like, “I’ll give you one word as a hint – garbage.”)
2. Have the students look around the classroom to talk about where they dispose of their garbage and make a list of the kinds of things they throw into the garbage bin.
3. Then ask, “Do we put all of our waste in the same container?” (The answer could be “yes” but if your school/classroom has a recycling program, review what kinds of waste goes into each one.)
4. Ask, “Where do you think all of this waste goes when it is taken from our classroom? (If it is recycled, the materials get used again; if it is regular garbage, it goes to a big garbage dump or landfill site.)
5. What does “landfill site” mean? (All of the unused garbage goes there; it makes a big mountain of trash; it gets buried by big machines to cover it up.)
6. Tell the students that from now on, whenever we refer to “garbage”, it is going to mean when something is no longer usable at all. It goes to a landfill site. (It may add clarification to provide an example such as: shoes may be reusable by a younger sibling but if they are torn and have holes in the soles, they will be garbage.)
Helping students focus on the video as they view it:
1. After the discussion say, “We are now going to watch the Photo Story called ‘Wasteland’. I want you to listen carefully to see if the classroom in this story recycles their waste materials and, if so, how.”
2. Have the students view “Wasteland”. You may wish to stop the video clip during the viewing to hold discussions about the above; or, you may choose to view it once through, then view it a second time, stopping for discussion throughout.
Helping students apply and reflect on the concepts:
1. Use the “Sample Guiding Questions” to guide discussion. Many of these questions are directly referenced from the Photo Story while others require inference and/or extended thinking based on the Photo Story, as well as their own life experiences and knowledge.
2. You may wish to refer back to the list of things they throw into their classroom garbage and add any item they saw in the Photo Story but forgot to include on the list.
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